Hamas Prime Minister Praises Role Of Turkey In Gaza Flotillas

A Union of Good website is reporting that Hamas Prime MInister Ismail Haniyah has acknowledged Tukey’s “key role in the organisation and participation in the Gaza flotilla movement. There remarks were made during a ceremony which unveiled a new monument to those who died in the first flotilla. According to the report:

The Palestinian prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyah, has unveiled a memorial at Gaza City’s Port to the victims of Freedom Flotilla 1. The monument is inscribed with the names of the nine Turkish activists who were killed aboard Freedom Flotilla 1’s lead ship, the Mavi Marmara, in May 2010. During the accompanying ceremony, the flags of all the states which took part in the Flotilla were flown with the Turkish flag taking pride of place as a tribute to the lead role the country has taken in efforts to break the siege on Gaza. During his address, the prime minister highlighted Turkey’s key role in the organisation and participation in the previous and upcoming Flotillas as well as the significant support and solidarity they have shown with the Palestinian people in their various efforts to break the siege on Gaza. Mr Haniyah voiced disapproval of calls made by the Secretary General of the United Nations to prevent the second fleet from setting off for Gaza. He said that they had rather expected that Mr Ban Ki-moon would express condemnation of the blockade on Gaza and refer the leaders of the occupation to the International Court of Justice for their crimes. Mr Haniyah stressed that the Palestinian state could not come about through US favor asserting that it would only be established through the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, who had made sacrifice and given their blood, and with the support of the Arab and Islamic nation.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) has recently published an almost hundred page report titled “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla” which provides extensive background on the years leading up to the 1st Gaza Flotilla. The JCPA report abstract states:

There is strong evidence for Turkish governmental involvement in the Gaza flotilla incident, with Turkish government support channeled through the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood. The IHH was not acting alone but rather was an integral part of a Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network.

With respect to the Global Muslim Brotherhood, report’s second conclusion states:

The Gaza flotilla incident brought into sharp focus an even more significant long- term development: the growing relationship between the Erdogan government and the Global Muslim Brotherhood, which has given rise to some of the most notorious Islamist terrorist groups – from al-Qaeda to Hamas. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood, while the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip acted as the main axis for this activity.

A post from yesterday discussed the imminent launch of the second Gaza flotilla scheduled for June 20.